Forex News: Dollar Rising Against Japanese Yen After BoJ Maintains

Dollar Rising Against Japanese Yen After BoJ Maintains Rates

07/31/2018 - 14:57:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - The dollar is little changed against its major European rivals Tuesday afternoon, but is gaining ground against the Japanese Yen after the Bank of Japan left rates unchanged after concluding its 2-day policy meeting.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave rates unchanged when it wraps up its 2-day policy meeting Wednesday afternoon. Traders will be keeping a close eye on the accompanying statement for any clues regarding the outlook for future rate hikes.

U.S. personal income and spending both increased in line with economist estimates in the month of June, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday.

The report said personal income climbed by 0.4 percent in June, matching the increase seen in May as well as expectations.

The Commerce Department said personal spending also rose by 0.4 percent in June after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.5 percent in May.

Economists had expected spending to increase by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.2 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

After reporting an unexpected deterioration in U.S. consumer confidence in the previous month, the Conference Board released a report on Tuesday showing a modest rebound in consumer confidence in the month of July.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index inched up to 127.4 in July from an upwardly revised 127.1 in June. Economists had expected the index to rise to 127.0 from the 126.4 originally reported for the previous month.

The dollar dropped to a low of $1.1745 against the Euro Tuesday, but has since rebounded to around $1.17.

The euro area economy grew at a slower pace in the second quarter, preliminary flash estimate from Eurostat showed Tuesday. Gross domestic product grew 0.3 percent from the first quarter, when the economy expanded 0.4 percent. A similar slower growth was last seen in the second quarter of 2016.

Euro area inflation accelerated for a third straight month in July to its highest level since late 2012, preliminary data from Eurostat showed Tuesday. The harmonized index of consumer prices rose 2.1 percent year-on-year in July, after climbing 2 percent in June. Economists had expected the rate to remain unchanged.

German unemployment decreased less than expected in July, reports said citing data from Federal Labor Agency on Tuesday. The number of unemployed fell by 6,000 in July from June compared to expected decline of 10,000.

The buck fell to a low of $1.3172 against the pound sterling Tuesday, but has since bounced back to around $1.3125.

Consumer confidence in the United Kingdom weakened further in July, the latest survey from GfK revealed on Tuesday with an index score of -10. That missed forecasts for a reading of -9, which would have been unchanged from the June reading.

As widely expected, the BoJ board retained the -0.1 percent interest rate on current accounts that financial institutions maintain at the bank.

The Bank of Japan retained its massive monetary stimulus on Tuesday and announced its plan to conduct asset purchases and market operations in a flexible manner.

Introducing its forward guidance, the bank said it intends to maintain the current extremely low levels of short and long-term interest rates for an extended period of time.

The greenback has climbed to around Y111.800 against the Japanese Yen Tuesday afternoon, from an early low of Y110.749.

The jobless rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.4 percent in June, the Ministry of Communications and Internal Affairs said on Tuesday. That exceeded expectations for 2.3 percent and was up from 2.2 percent in May.

Industrial output in Japan was down 1.2 percent on year in June, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Tuesday. That missed forecasts for an increase of 0.6 percent following the 4.2 percent jump in the previous month.

Japan's consumer confidence weakened unexpectedly in July, though slightly, survey data from the Cabinet Office showed Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted consumer confidence index dropped to 43.5 in July from 43.7 in June. Meanwhile, the index was expected to improve to 47.8.

Japan's housing starts declined at a faster-than-expected rate in June, after rising in the previous two months, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism revealed Tuesday. Housing starts fell notably by 7.1 percent annually in June, reversing a 1.3 percent rise in May. That was well above the 3.0 percent drop economists had forecast.